Wow, this chapter is late. I'm really, really sorry! To make up for it, the next one should be up in the next two weeks or so. But since this chapter is the beginning of Part Two, I really needed to get my act together and plan it all. I understand that's not the best excuse and it's not intended to be an excuse. I could've had this up much earlier if I'd put more effort, and for that I'm sorry.

On a lighter note, I hope you enjoy the chapter! It's a filler of sorts, setting tue scene for Part Two, but I hope you enjoy it regardless.

Chapter 8-

"Father, will you teach me how to ride a bike?" seven year old Hana pleaded, "It's my birthday!"

"Of course" he smiled, and Hana immediately started bouncing around the room in joy, "But only for a little while" he warned, "I have work to do"

"Okay!" Hana beamed, "So how do I ride, father? Will you tell me? Will you tell me now?"

He laughed, and said "The first rule of riding a bike is to not fall off"

Hana huffed, "Of course I know that! I'm seven, not stupid!"

But apparently, following this rule was harder than it first appeared. Hana and her father spent the entire afternoon in a failed attempt to teach Hana to ride a bike, which left her sweaty and unsatisfied.

The rest of the evening followed her typical birthday tradition. The night didn't.

"How could you be so irresponsible!?" Hana's mother yelled, "This is one of your most important jobs, how could you waste the entire afternoon-"

Their voices faded for a minute, and then Hana's mother's voice rose again, "Of course I'm thinking about Hana! You're the one who isn't thinking about Hana!"

Hana nestled under the covers, hands clamped over her ears, trying to block the noise out. It didn't work. She was trembling, shaking, hoping it would be over, hoping they would stop. It had started months ago. Little things, like who was going to drive Hana to school or who was doing the dishes. Then bigger things, like who was going to pay the bills and who was going to get a better paying job.

Hana had done her best to stop them. She realized that they never argued when they thought she could hear them, so she stayed up later than usual, making loud noises to prove she was awake so that they stopped. Years later, this would instill an insomniac habit that took heavy discipline to beat.

But despite Hana's tactics, somehow they still found time for the snide remarks, the dirty glances, and eventually, the shouting. Hana didn't think of it as much. People fought all the time didn't they? It was supposed to help them relieve stress. She should just stay out of it.

It was a month later, when Hana's mother announced she was pregnant, that things got messy.

Hana's father didn't want to stick around for another child. Simple as that. Hana had worn him out with her own troublesome childhood, and so one day he just up and left. No note, no phone call, no rushed apology; he just left.

When the baby was born Hana's mother said she named her Sakura, after the tree that used be opposite them.

'I just wanted to capture the last beautiful thing in my life' Hana's mother had said fondly, 'The last thing that's reliable'

Hana had replied, 'But what about me, mother?'

'Oh, of course dear, you too'

Hana never believed her. At first, she'd thought that her fathers disappearance was her own fault. She hadn't been paying enough attention at school, wasn't doing her homework, and that must have had made her father angry. So she'd bettered her grades, but after a while, when her father hadn't come back, she came to a realization.

'It's that devil baby. She took away Father away and now she's taking mother away. I hate her I hate her I hate her I hate IHATEHERIHATEHERIHATEHER'

In the beginning, Hana only blamed Sakura for small things. But soon, she started to blame Sakura for everything.

'Yuuki didn't want to play with me today. She said I was boring. She said I took school too seriously. That's the devil baby's fault. If father hadn't left, I wouldn't have to study. If I didn't have to study, Yuuki would still be my friend. It's all Sakura's fault. It's always Sakura's fault'

Over time, her bitterness grew. And then one day, after she'd come home from a day at school filled with her classmates calling her names -Smarty pants! Boring! Ugly! Teachers pet!- she saw Sakura with one of her favorite toys, a teddy bear called Misa-chan.

"Give that back!" Hana cried out furiously, snatching Misa-chan from a now wailing Sakura, "Are you OK, Misa-Chan?" She cradled the doll carefully, then turned to Sakura, HOW COULD YOU?" She screamed at Sakura, who immediately fell silent in shock, "YOUVE TAKEN FATHER AND YUUKI AND NOW YOU WANT TO TAKE MISA-CHAN? NO!"

"Hana!" Her mother chided as she walked in, "What's with all the screaming?"

And that was when Hana started to cry. The details after that blurred in Hana's mind, but the one thing her mother said had always stayed with her.

'Hana... In life, things are going to happen. Some things are going to be good, and some things are going to be bad. Trying to fix the bad things is the only way you'll be happy. Making Sakura take the blame for all the bad things in your life is not fair. She's just a baby; she doesn't understand what she's doing. Look at her. Isn't she just adorable?'

And then Hana looked at her baby sister, really looked at her, and she smiled, 'Yeah, she is'

'Good. And Hana, remember. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade' at this, Hana's mother gave a great big smile, and that piece of random advice would stay in Hana's mind for years to come. Afterwards, shed always puzzled as to why her mother had said it. It didn't make any sense; it was barely relevant. But still, she remembered it.

"Hana, are you listening?" Chris sighed, exasperated, "That's the third time today. What's wrong?"

'Oh, nothing. I just had a dream of my father that brought back unwanted memories. But let's just pretend I have no emotional baggage, okay?"

"I'm fine, Chris" Hana said, "I'm just a little tired"

And Hana looked it. Over the past week she'd done nothing but mope, cry and study, leaving pale skin and heavy bags under her eyes. But the most obvious part was her eyes. There was no spark in them. Kyoya had taken that along with her heart.

Chris stood up, "Okay. That's enough. I've put up with your crap for the past week, but not any more. You need to forget that jerk. You need a hobby. Come with me"

Uncertainly, Hana followed Chris. It was the first recognition Chris had given her sorrows since their conversation about Kyoya, back when Hana was in fairyland, deluded into happiness. She hadn't asked about it, and Hana had been relieved. She didn't want to remember anything; she just wanted to forget. Forget her sadness, forget her pain, forget the brief happiness she felt that made everything else in her life pale in comparison. Forget Kyoya.

She sighed.

She was taken out of her melancholy from a ridiculously loud conversation. It was as though they were talking with the purpose to be overheard.

"Did you hear about Aoi-chan? She's, like, in hospital!"

"What, no way! What happened?"

"She got, like, this fever, cause there's this really nasty flu going around. Not many people have it, but like, when you get it, it really bad"

"We're here" Chris announced, snapping Hana's attention to her, "The photography club"

Chris opened the doors. Hana was expecting a small, cosy club room. As usual, Ouran High exceeded expectation.

It was a giant of a room, with lighting that you would expect to see on a movie set. There was a window area for natural light, and there was a side of the room with varying degrees of shadows- slightly shadowed, mostly shadowed, and a door that led to a room which was obviously meant for pitch black shots. Maybe if they needed a night-vision photo, they'd use it.

It was extravagant. It was over-the-top. It was most definitely part of Ouran High.

"What do you think?" Chris asked, smiling slightly, "You mentioned that when you were a child, you liked photography. I thought maybe that same passions exists now"

It did, but Hana wasn't going to admit it, "It's amazing" she smiled, "But I'm not interested in photography"

"Liar" Chris accused, "You pretend you don't enjoy it because cameras are expensive. Looking at the immediate positive, not dreaming too much, being realistic- that's you. Of course you would give up photography if it was expensive and time-wasting; it wasn't achievable, so you tried to forget about it. Even if you could work on the negative to make it positive, you don't, because you think it's a waste of time and too much effort. Am I right, or am I right?"

Hana felt a slow smile creep on her face, the first genuine one in a week. It wasn't a happy smile; it was the smile of a kid caught trying to sneak the cookie from the jar: mischievous. "You're right" she confirmed, "I don't think it consciously, but if there's a chance something won't work, I tend not to put too much effort into it. And you're right about the photography, too. Why wish for something you can never have?"

"Hana" Chris said, "You're at Ouran High. That cannot be your motto. At a Ouran High, you reach for the stars. As for joining the photography club, money isn't an issue; they have cameras for rental. Memory cards, you have to by for yourself. Luckily, I just happen to have two memory cards" she whipped them out and gave them to Hana, "What a coincidence"

"Thanks, Chris" Hana said sincerely, "I've been in a bad mood. This'll really cheer me up"

"Eh, it was no big deal" Chris said, trying to pretend she wasn't pleased. But the slight blush on her cheeks gave it away.

"What's going on?" Hana asked, "Hikari told me something about a festival?"

It was a little while after school, and she was working at the cafe. According to Hikari, Misaki had made an announcement.

"That's right" Misaki affirmed, "It's what my boss used to do for me and my coworkers. It helps you bond with one-another, making the working environment much more pleasant"

Hana bit back a snide remark. 'Bonding, really? I usually don't mind going to the festival, but for a reason as stupid as that, I might'

"I know what you're thinking" Misaki smirked, amused, "It won't be bad, I promise. And who knows, it might just be fun"

Hana gave her a smile- the convincing one- and said, "I'll think about it"

"Good" Misaki said, satisfied, "Now start working, slacker"

"Misaki, you really shouldn't call Hana a slacker" Hikari scolded, walking over to Hana, eyes defiant "According to my textbook, negative language can inspire negative reactions, so by simply calling Hana a slacker, you can be pushing her to actually become a slacker-"

"Okay Hikari. I understand." Misaki said, winking at Hana when Hikari's back was turned.

Hana grinned and left the back room, walking back into the front ready to take any new orders. She nearly fainted when she saw her next two customers.

It was the twins, identical smirks on their smug faces. Even after a month with the Host Club, Hana was ashamed to say that she still couldn't tell them apart until they spoke. However, she had noticed that Kaoru's voice sounded slightly different to Hikaru's. Also, Kaoru's speech pattern was different to that of Hikaru's, so they weren't exactly the same. It helped for differentiation, at least.

"Hey, Hana" Hikaru greeted, "How are you?"

"What are you doing here?" She hissed through a bright, welcoming smile, "Isn't this place too pedestrian for you?"

"We were bored" they shrugged, now talking in sync, "So we decided to pay you a visit"

Hana sighed, then said, "What can I get for you?"

"It's more of a who than a what" Kaoru said, "We want Haruhi"

"Haruhi?" Hana repeated, baffled, "Why do you think I can get Haruhi?"

They looked as though they thought she was a complete idiot. Which, from recent events, probably wasn't much of a stretch, "Duh" they said, "You're Haruhi's female friend. She'll talk to you about her feelings and stuff. So talk to her, and tell her to come back to school"

Hana bit her tongue, fighting back a harsh response. She wanted to say, 'What a generic response? Just because I'm a female and I'm her friend doesn't mean she'll talk about her feelings with me. You've been her friends for longer, you should know!'

Instead, she said, "I haven't spoken to Haruhi recently" Hana said, then frowned, "Actually, I haven't even seen her recently"

"That's because she hasn't been coming to school" Hikaru said, "She's been gone for a week now, and... We're worried. She hasn't called us, and apparently Haruhi's dad hasn't told Kyoya anything" as soon as he said Kyoya's name, Hana flinched. He continued, oblivious, "The Boss hasn't been himself either. Yesterday, he yelled at a customer"

"It was really funny" Kaoru chimed in, "She started crying and calling Tamaki an idiot. But it was strange, because... The Boss never yells at the customers"

"So just get her to come back to school" Hikaru finished, "As for our order, we'll take one of everything. I've always wanted to try commoners food"

Hana just stared at them.

"Sis, you have a camera!" Sakura beamed that evening, grabby fingers trying to seize the camera that was just out of her reach, "What are you going to use it for?"

"I don't know" Hana confessed, "My friend, Chris, said that I should mess around with it for a bit; get used to using it before I take some serious shots. What she actually means, I don't know"

"She sounds smart" Sakura said, awe on her face, "But not as smart as you sis! Can I take a photo?"

"Complimenting me isn't going to give you the camera" Hana warned.

Apparently, one of Sakura's pleading looks could, though. After teaching her younger sister how to use it, she watched her sister take photos of everything and everything as she recounted her past.

'I hated Sakura' Hana thought, 'I really, really did. I thought she was the source of all my problems. But problems, like Kyoya, are always going to happen. I just need to forget him and keep going'

Unwarranted, Chris' earlier words sprung to mind, 'Of course you would give up photography if it was expensive and time-wasting; if there's anything negative in your life, you try to forget about it'

Hana grimaced, 'Do I really do that? Maybe... But forgetting Kyoya, just like forgetting my father, will benefit me. I need to move on. What's that saying- Plenty more fish in the sea? Isn't that meant to help you move on?

Heh... There's only one problem with that advice; it doesn't apply to Kyoya. Kyoya isn't a fish; he's a shark, a fearsome predator. And I was a fish. But not anymore. I refuse to be hurt again. I'll change. I'll adapt.

And I'll become better than he could ever hope to be'